Calendar of Events
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February
Museum hours through March 31:
Monday - Saturday 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Sunday 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Crowdsourcing a Collection
The Concord Museum's 125th Anniversary Exhibition
On view October 22, 2011, through March 18, 2012
In the fall of 2011, the Concord Museum will mark the 125th anniversary of the establishment of the Concord Antiquarian Society in 1886. In honor of that remarkable achievement, a special exhibition, “Crowdsourcing a Collection,” offers new and unexpected perspectives on an esteemed collection. Pulitzer-prize winning author, historian, and Concord resident Doris Kearns Goodwin is serving as the Honorary Curator for the exhibition. A cross-section of the individuals who make up the Museum’s diverse community, including nationally-known individuals with connections to Concord, have been invited to serve as Guest Curators and have selected objects from our holdings that have special meaning for them. Guest Curators include historians Nathaniel Philbrick and Laurel Thatcher Ulrich; Senator John Kerry; novelist and physicist Alan Lightman; author and Presidential Medal of Freedom honoree Robert Coles; craftsman and North Bennet Street School president Miguel Gómez-Ibáñez; arts journalist Joyce Kulhawik; Nanae, Japan mayor Yasukazu Nakamiya; Concord Honored Citizens Marian Thornton and Dot Higgins; and many others. In addition, the exhibition includes the “favorite” objects of Concord residents from the past, including Henry David Thoreau, Louisa May Alcott, and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Visitors to the exhibition are invited to join the crowd, choose an object, and share their own story.
The Museum’s objects speak to such contemporary topics as freedom, independent thinking, craftsmanship, and the environment, among others, and are already drawing a wide variety of responses. As the Museum reaches beyond its walls to celebrate the 125th anniversary, we will daily make new discoveries about our distinguished collection and the many personal ways in which the objects carry history into the present. This special exhibition is on view in the Wallace Kane Gallery at the Concord Museum from October 22, 2011 through March 18, 2012, free with Museum admission.
For more information on the exhibit and related programming, click here.
Lead Sponsor:
Media Sponsor: 
Tea & Sweets
Friday and Saturday Afternoons, February 3 through March 31
This winter, invite a friend, neighbor or family member to elegant Brooke Hall at the Concord Museum for a relaxing afternoon of tea and sweets and a visit to the Museum’s history and decorative arts galleries. Tea served with the jewel-like, handmade, silken tea infusers crafted by Tea Forté of Concord makes the afternoon experience a memorable one. Sweets are provided by vicki lee's of Belmont. Seatings at 1:30 and 3:00; $20/person; $15 Members; includes Museum admission. By advance reservation only (978) 369-9763.
Tea Infusions: A Tea Time Conversation with an Expert Chef
with chef Victoria Connell
Saturday, February 11, 2012
While engaging in a Tea Time Conversation with an expert chef, enjoy cups of tea and specialty treats infused with different flavors of tea. Learn about the new trend that creatively blends the use of tea in sweet and savory flavor profiles. See how versatile an ingredient tea can be. Tea is served with the jewel-like, handmade, silken tea infusers crafted by Tea Forté of Concord. Sweets and expertise are provided by Chef Victoria Connell, an associate professor in Southern New Hampshire University's Culinary Program, who has written and taught curricula for the pastry arts program since 1985. 2:00 – 4:00 (Seating at 2:00); $25/person; $20 Members; by reservation (978) 369-9763.
A Visit with Abraham Lincoln
Presidents’ Day, Monday, February 20, 2012
The Concord Museum is pleased to once again host Steve Wood and his amazing performance as Abraham Lincoln. Matching Mr. Lincoln’s height and beard, Wood bears enough of a resemblance to our 16th president to make heads turn. His first-person historical interpretation, “A Visit with Abraham Lincoln,” includes stories of Lincoln’s early life, campaign debates, the Civil War, and the Emancipation Proclamation, and concludes with a stirring reading of the Gettysburg Address. A member of the Association of Lincoln Presenters, Steve Wood has performed at schools, libraries, historical societies, and community events since 1995, and in conjunction with the Smithsonian’s traveling exhibit, “American Originals.” 1:00-2:00; Recommended for all ages, by reservation only; reserve early as space is limited (978) 369-9763. Nonmembers $10/$5 child; Members $7/$3 child. Be sure to stop by the Museum Shop to purchase your own stovepipe hat!
Connoisseurship Lessons with Curator David Wood
February 22, March 7, and March 14; 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
Using examples the distinguished collections of the Concord Museum, join Curator David Wood for three connoisseurship lessons on the subjects of furniture, ceramics, and metals. Class members will come away with a better understanding of what an object can tell about the way it was made, a crucial first step to understanding what it is and how it may have changed over time.
February 22 – Furniture
The first session will survey furniture making in New England from the 17th century to the end of the cabinetmaking shop tradition in the early 19th century. The emphasis will be on the structures of the shops that produced this furniture as it can be read in the objects themselves.
March 7 – Ceramics
The ceramics session will focus on domestic ceramics from the 17th to the 19th century. The emphasis will be on the techniques and technologies of ceramics, again as they can be seen in the objects themselves. The common technologies of porcelain and earthenware, construction techniques of throwing and casting, decorative techniques of glazing, painting in glazes and transfer printing will all be illustrated with examples.
March 14 – Metal
The metal session will look at domestic New England objects made of silver, brass, copper and iron. The emphasis will be on the shop of Samuel Bartlett (1752-1821) who worked in Concord as a silversmith from 1776 to 1795. The work of the silversmith is substantially different from that of the brassfounder or blacksmith. This class will explore the structure of a silversmith’s shop to help make sense of the differing processes that underlie brass and iron objects of the 18th century.
David F. Wood has been the Curator of the Concord Museum since 1985. He is the author of An Observant Eye: The Thoreau Collection at the Concord Museum, editor of Concord Museum: Decorative Arts from a New England Collection, and has contributed reviews and articles on Concord cabinetmakers, silversmiths and clockmakers to The Magazine Antiques; American Furniture; Catalog of Antiques and Fine Art; and other publications.
The course fee is $35; non-residents $38. Enrollment and course information (course #3292) through Concord-Carlisle Adult and Community Education at www.ace.colonial.net or (978) 318-1432.
Tea for Two: An Adult/Child Tea with Louisa May Alcott
Saturday February 25, 2012
Delight your child or grandchild with an afternoon with Louisa May Alcott! Make the day a special outing by sipping cocoa or tea in Daniel Chester French Hall while you enjoy tasty treats and listen to stories of Louisa’s adventures and her book Little Women. After tea, make a keepsake to take home with you to remember your trip to the Museum and your visit with Louisa. 2:00; $10/child; $15/accompanying adult; recommended for ages 7 and up; by advance reservation only; (978) 369-9763.
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March
Museum hours through March 31:
Monday - Saturday 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Sunday 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Crowdsourcing a Collection
The Concord Museum's 125th Anniversary Exhibition
On view October 22, 2011, through March 18, 2012
In the fall of 2011, the Concord Museum will mark the 125th anniversary of the establishment of the Concord Antiquarian Society in 1886. In honor of that remarkable achievement, a special exhibition, “Crowdsourcing a Collection,” offers new and unexpected perspectives on an esteemed collection. Pulitzer-prize winning author, historian, and Concord resident Doris Kearns Goodwin is serving as the Honorary Curator for the exhibition. A cross-section of the individuals who make up the Museum’s diverse community, including nationally-known individuals with connections to Concord, have been invited to serve as Guest Curators and have selected objects from our holdings that have special meaning for them. Guest Curators include historians Nathaniel Philbrick and Laurel Thatcher Ulrich; Senator John Kerry; novelist and physicist Alan Lightman; author and Presidential Medal of Freedom honoree Robert Coles; craftsman and North Bennet Street School president Miguel Gómez-Ibáñez; arts journalist Joyce Kulhawik; Nanae, Japan mayor Yasukazu Nakamiya; Concord Honored Citizens Marian Thornton and Dot Higgins; and many others. In addition, the exhibition includes the “favorite” objects of Concord residents from the past, including Henry David Thoreau, Louisa May Alcott, and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Visitors to the exhibition are invited to join the crowd, choose an object, and share their own story.
The Museum’s objects speak to such contemporary topics as freedom, independent thinking, craftsmanship, and the environment, among others, and are already drawing a wide variety of responses. As the Museum reaches beyond its walls to celebrate the 125th anniversary, we will daily make new discoveries about our distinguished collection and the many personal ways in which the objects carry history into the present. This special exhibition is on view in the Wallace Kane Gallery at the Concord Museum from October 22, 2011 through March 18, 2012, free with Museum admission.
For more information on the exhibit and related programming, click here.
Lead Sponsor:
Media Sponsor:
Tea & Sweets
Friday and Saturday Afternoons, February 3 through March 31
This winter, invite a friend, neighbor or family member to elegant Brooke Hall at the Concord Museum for a relaxing afternoon of tea and sweets and a visit to the Museum’s history and decorative arts galleries. Tea served with the jewel-like, handmade, silken tea infusers crafted by Tea Forté of Concord makes the afternoon experience a memorable one. Sweets are provided by vicki lee's of Belmont. Seatings at 1:30 and 3:00; $20/person; $15 Members; includes Museum admission. By advance reservation only (978) 369-9763.
2012 Mary Lesneski Memorial Lecture presented by Dominique Browning
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Dominique Browning, memoirist and journalist, environmental advocate, and author of Slow Love, presents the Concord Museum’s 2012 Mary M. Lesneski Memorial Lecture. For more than a decade, Dominique Browning was editor-in-chief of the Condé Nast institution House & Garden. After losing her job and the magazine she edited for more than a decade, Dominique Browning was forced to slow down and find a new structure for her life. Ms. Browning visits the Concord Museum to discuss her most recent book, Slow Love, and to talk about wearing pajamas to the farmer’s market, playing piano at four in the morning, and learning to love an unexpected, unanticipated life. Ms. Browning has worked with publications such as The New York Times, Wired, and O. She writes a monthly column about environmental issues for the Environmental Defense Fund. She produced several books at House & Garden, including The New Garden Paradise, and is the author of three books. She blogs at slowlovelife.com. As is tradition, an elegant Afternoon Tea organized by the Concord Museum’s Guild of Volunteers follows the lecture. The annual Mary M. Lesneski Lecture, begun 33 years ago in memory of a dedicated Concord Museum volunteer, has brought nationally renowned speakers on a variety of topics to the Museum each March. Books will be available for purchase and signing. 1:00; $30; $25 Members; by advance reservation (978) 369-9763; space is limited.
Skinner Appraisal Day at the Concord Museum
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Do you have a family heirloom passed down through generations? Maybe a great yard sale item or flea market find that might be a treasure? Would you like to know what it is worth? Bring your special items to the Skinner Appraisal Day at the Concord Museum for a verbal appraisal. Stephen Fletcher, Executive Vice President of Skinner, Inc. and Director of the Americana department, is widely regarded as one of the world’s foremost experts on early American furniture, American decorative arts and folk art. LaGina Austin is Skinner’s Director of Appraisal & Auction Services. As a Senior Appraiser she evaluates and brings to auction a wide range of material, including American and European antiques, fine art, ephemera, and collectibles. In conducting her very first Appraisal Day for Skinner, she identified what turned out to be a $250,000 painting!
$20 for one item or $50 for three; Members: $15 for one item or $35 for three; 11:00-4:00; reservations required, (978) 369-9763. Reserve early as space is limited. All proceeds benefit the Concord Museum. The appraisal day is offered in association with the 125th anniversary exhibition, Crowdsourcing a Collection.
Tips: Attendees should not bring coins, stamps, jewelry, and musical instruments to be appraised. Paintings and other art objects are highly recommended. Skinner also recommends that good quality photos be substituted for large or particularly fragile items. For services of china or silver, one example of each piece in a set accompanied by a list of the total number of pieces will function to represent the entire set.
Sweet and Savory: A Tea Time Conversation with an Expert Chef
with chef Brigid Flanigan
Saturday, March 24
Enjoy tea and jams infused with herbs and spices for both sweet and savory uses. Learn from an expert chef as you try plum-thyme or cranberry-cardamom jam with a sweet pound cake; then with a savory sandwich. Tea is served with the jewel-like, handmade, silken tea infusers crafted by Tea Forté of Concord. Sweets and expertise are provided by Chef Brigid Flanigan, associate professor of culinary arts at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester. Before joining the university in 1995, Flanigan worked as a chef in private clubs, hotels and restaurants, including St. Botolph Restaurant in Boston, and Club 101 and The United Nations Park Hyatt Hotel in New York City. 2:00-4:00 (seating at 2:00); $25/person; $20 Members, includes Museum admission. By advance reservation only (978) 369-9763. back to top
April
Museum Hours:
Monday - Saturday 9:00 am to 5:00 pm; Sunday 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm
The Object of History: Colonial Treasures from the Massachusetts Historical Society
Friday, April 13 through Sunday, June 17, 2012
This innovative exhibition explores treasures from the Massachusetts Historical Society from a variety of perspectives – as items associated with important historical figures or events; as objects of beauty; as exceptional survivals from the past; and as conveyors of amazing stories. The layers of meaning imbedded in each object are revealed through the discerning eyes of Concord Museum Curator David Wood and Massachusetts Historical Society Librarian Peter Drummey. The exhibition includes rarely exhibited 17th- and 18th-century objects and related documents from the Society’s exceptional holdings.
Members’ Opening: Thursday, April 12; 6:00-8:00 p.m.
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May
Museum Hours:
Monday - Saturday 9:00 am to 5:00 pm; Sunday 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm
The Object of History: Colonial Treasures from the Massachusetts Historical Society
Friday, April 13 through Sunday, June 17, 2012
This innovative exhibition explores treasures from the Massachusetts Historical Society from a variety of perspectives – as items associated with important historical figures or events; as objects of beauty; as exceptional survivals from the past; and as conveyors of amazing stories. The layers of meaning imbedded in each object are revealed through the discerning eyes of Concord Museum Curator David Wood and Massachusetts Historical Society Librarian Peter Drummey. The exhibition includes rarely exhibited 17th- and 18th-century objects and related documents from the Society’s exceptional holdings.
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June
Museum hours: Open seven days a week, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
The Object of History: Colonial Treasures from the Massachusetts Historical Society
Friday, April 13 through Sunday, June 17, 2012
This innovative exhibition explores treasures from the Massachusetts Historical Society from a variety of perspectives – as items associated with important historical figures or events; as objects of beauty; as exceptional survivals from the past; and as conveyors of amazing stories. The layers of meaning imbedded in each object are revealed through the discerning eyes of Concord Museum Curator David Wood and Massachusetts Historical Society Librarian Peter Drummey. The exhibition includes rarely exhibited 17th- and 18th-century objects and related documents from the Society’s exceptional holdings.
The 23rd Annual Garden Tour
Friday & Saturday, June 1 & 2
The Museum’s Garden Tour has become a New England tradition for garden lovers from near and far. The Garden Tour will take place on two days, Friday and Saturday, June 1 and 2, rain or shine. Each of the eight private gardens reflects the individual interests and passions of the owners and their families and will inspire both new gardeners designing their first perennial bed and accomplished landscapers with acres of “garden rooms.”
The tour of Concord-area gardens is self-guided and self-paced, beginning each day at 9:00 a.m. and continuing until 4:00 p.m. Garden-goers should arrive at the Museum to pick up their maps prior to starting out. Tickets are good for either or both days, but each garden may only be visited once. Advance Tickets (through May 25): $26 Members, $32 Nonmembers; After May 25th or at the door: $32 Museum Members, $38 Nonmembers. No refunds; no photography.
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